The board, which rejected the proposed cuts for next year, made a total increase of €3.75 million in the education budget.
Last night, Lahti’s Education Board rejected the millions in savings prepared for the sector. The officials proposed, among other things, to cut €2.4 million from the personnel costs of basic education.
The Education Committee unanimously rejected the proposal and recorded that the schools’ financial literacy will be strengthened and savings will be sought in procurement, purchasing of services and administration.
For early childhood education, the committee decided to add €1 million instead of making cuts. The savings targets for secondary education, youth services and the Wellamo University were lowered.
The board of education of Lahti ended up making a total of about 3.75 million euro addition to the budget proposal.
“It would be sheer madness”
– It would be utter madness if we took the future away from children. We want the children and workers in Lahti to be well, and that the schools have enough staff and time resources so that the students get the right kind of teaching at the right time, Markkanen reasons.
According to him, the board of education cannot commit to a savings program in this situation.
– It was done before the corona virus, and it has not been possible to predict what the so-called LUMO years will be like.
Markkanen considers that the anticipated costs of the cultural work have been at an unrealistic level in previous years, and the planned budget has not been kept in the end. Although the board does not demand savings, it wants for schools, for example, to calculate the money more accurately.
– Our message is that financial skills need to be increased at the organizational level of educational services. The use of the economy must be monitored and supported, and it is assumed that the budget will be largely maintained, Markkanen states.
The city council will finally decide on the 2023 budget in November. Before that, the industries and city manager Pekka Timonen will make their own presentations on the use of money for next year.
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